In the Union Territory of Ladakh, several schemes have been channelized for entrepreneurs in various sectors in order to successfully create maximum benefits which can be availed by the unemployed youth in the region.

While overcoming various challenges to empower youth in various socio-political and economic spheres of life, welfare schemes have played an immense role in their empowerment.

To generate various employment avenues and strengthen the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and self-employed individuals, the Government of Indian has been persistently coming up with various subsidized schemes focusing on the rural economy.

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These are aimed to reduce economic imbalances. Overcoming the challenge to reduce the economic disparity, the Union Government is keenly taking pragmatic steps through various subsidized schemes to strengthen the overall economy in the region.

Prioritizing the sustainable economic growth of small entrepreneurs and self-employed youth through various schemes contributes to economic growth.

During the 1st Ladakh MSMEs Business Investment and Job Creation Expo 2021 held at Sindhu Sanskriti Kendra Leh, the LG Ladakh Radha Krishna Mathur said there are numerous avenues in Ladakh one can prosper successfully providing the right guidance with upgraded modern technical support and handholding.

LG Mathur said since the inception of the Union Territory of Ladakh, the Government of India has a special eye on the holistic sustainable development of Ladakh.

The journey of a makeup artist

There are many entrepreneurs who have taken advantage benefit of several government schemes under the MSME sector.

One such example of an empowered woman is Fatima Banoo hailing from Pashkum village. She is the owner of Shenaz Herbal Beauty Parlor Kargil. Sharing her journey of becoming a makeup artist, Fatima with her charming smile and confident voice turned her hobby into a passion.

Recalling her initial days she said it was very difficult for her to tell in public about her profession as there is a social stigma associated with this profession which was discouraging for her.

“Being in a patriarchal society, people raised many questions regarding my profession. Even children would pass unethical comments,” she said.

Battling odds, Fatima learned to ignore such comments, negative remarks and focused on work.

Behind her success is the unconditional support of her family. “But today, the negative perspective towards this profession has changed which is satisfying to me,” she said.

A professionally trained makeup artist, Fatima has done 6 months beautician course from Government Polytechnic College Jammu and a one-year diploma from New Shahnaaz Herbal Beauty Parlour from Srinagar.

She has also attended several training sessions and seminars organized by various acclaimed brands including Streax, Kryolan, and Aysun where she got exposure to upgrade her skills in this field.

Fatima has also earned a certificate of vocational proficiency in various skill-oriented fields including tailoring, hand knitting, jewelry designing, etc. apart from providing employment and training to young girls in her shop. She has also organized one month training session in Kargil to train interested girls in the field.

She is an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and motivates others as well.

With her efforts, many girls have now opened their shops and earned considerable money.

In 2018, Fatima took a loan of Rs 4 lakhs from the District Industries and Commerce Department Kargil under Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) scheme.

The dealer behind eco-friendly bags

A few years ago, Reyaz Ahmad who is the owner of Himalayan Carry Bag availed a loan of 24 lakhs through the PMEGP under 35% subsidy.

He got the loan after he was motivated by the rapid environmental degradation due to the excessive use of plastic carry bags and introduced environment-friendly carry bags.

While he was searching for an alternative to plastic carry bags, one-day Reyaz learned about the benefits of the PMEGP scheme.

“Going through excessive tiring online research it felt like the light of hope was visible after a long journey,” he said.

Reyaz approached District Industries and Commerce Department Kargil to know about the scheme. He was convinced to take benefit of the scheme.

Himalayan Carry Bag at present is producing two types of non-woven carry bags made of polypropylene fabric D Cut and W Cut with 5 sizes each which are environment friendly. D Cut is mainly used by the readymade shop owners and W cut by the grocery.

He presently provides employment to five people and has an annual turnout of Rs 30 lakhs and is satisfied over his ability to provide employment to others. “I want to extend this unit to a larger scale so that I would be able to generate more employment,” he said.

An entrepreneur with a difference

Fayaz Ahmed of Lotsum village Kargil is the owner of the famous Highland Bakery. Hailing from a middle-class family, he holds M-Phil Degree in Political Science.

Fayaz has introduced eggless pastries and cakes first time in Kargil.

The move impressed vegetarian community including Army Officers, skilled laborers, daily wagers residing in Kargil and tourists as well.

He has introduced different varieties of cookies including zeera, almond, walnut, bason cookies, hot dog, burger apple pie and other allied varieties for the first time in Kargil.

Fayaz took a loan of Rs 25 lakhs through PMEGP scheme in 2019-20 under 35% subsidy. The annual turnover of Fayaz now is around 18 to 20 lakhs per year.

Taking good care of the food habits of non-vegetarian community and their positive feedback is satisfying for him. He said the message which these people will carry outside Kargil will enhance the image of the town in a positive way which will ultimately benefit the society.

Concerned over lack of local skilled labour, Fayaz said he wants to train local unemployed youth in this sector so that in future they would be able to earn sustainable earnings on their own.

At present Fayaz’s bakery manufacturing unit provides employment to 12 people. He is also providing skills to the local youth.

“Entrepreneurship is a collective effort. One can only excel in this field if rights and needs of employees are taken care of,” he said.

A simple procedure for registration

District Industries Promotion Officer Kargil, Mudassir Rauf Wani said it is mandatory for every MSMEs to get themselves registered at www.udyamregistration.gov.in.

The platform has been devised by the government to simplify the procedural format and to reduce the hectic time consuming process in order to get them registered with the government.

In return the government will provide a certificate of recognition with a unique ID number to certify micro, small, medium business or enterprises.

Wani said the opening date started from 1st July 2020 and it still continues for the registration of beneficiaries. Till now more than 500 MSMEs have been registered to avail various benefits of the scheme in Kargil district.

As a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the Ministry of Food and Processing Industries launched Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprise Scheme (PM FME) on 28th June 2020.

The objective of the scheme is to adopt One District One Product (ODOP) approach to reap benefits of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing products. In this regard, locally produced apricot, has been chosen for the Kargil district.

Wani said till now, at least 10 applicants have applied for the scheme and many are also approaching District Industries and Commerce Department for further queries.

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) is the successful scheme through which 90 cases have been forwarded to banks while 27 cases have been sanctioned till now.

The objective of the scheme is to provide employment to a large segment of traditional and prospective artisans besides rural and urban unemployed youth through setting up of micro enterprises.

The public procurement policy for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) came into existence from 1st April 2012. The objective of the policy is to promote and develop small micro enterprises by supporting them in marketing of their products.

Wani informed that around 500 beneficiaries got various benefits out of this scheme.

He also said Industrial Development Scheme (IDS) was brought by Ministry of Commerce and Industries. Through this scheme many beneficiaries got benefitted.

Note: The article was first appeared in the DIPR Kargil’s bi-monthly magazine Kargil Nama.